I don't think that this gentleman needs any introduction. Who doesn't know Billy Sheehan, bass player of bands like TALAS, MR. BIG, NIACIN and member of the David Lee Roth band? If anyone said Aye! he must open another tab on his browser and go to his official site or/and Wikepedia for a history lesson.

I won't even try to write down the history of Billy Sheehan. If I try something like that, I should write a double digit number of pages, you'll get bored and finally our chief editor will start showing his love to me! So I won't! I'll just write down that Mr. Sheehan has already released two solo albums; Compression back in 2002, on Steve Vai's Favored Nations record label, and another one in 2005 called Cosmic Troubadour.

A few days ago his newest album, Holy Cow!, was out and it's time for Metal Temple to say its opinion (well, technically, me). Even though I'm not into this kind of sound that much, I really enjoyed this album. A beautiful real solo Rock album, since Billy Sheehan plays every instrument except the drums, where Ray Luzier sits behind the drum kit, and with some guest appearances from well known gentlemen such as Billy G. Gibbons from ZZ TOP. In this album you'll also see contributions from Paul Gilbert, his old friend and bandmate from MR. BIG, and Dug Pinnick (KING'S X). The album is well balanced between the instrumental compositions and the ones with vocals. Of course, especially in the non-vocal ones, the bass is having the starring role, but honestly that was something to expect. The guest musicians surely give their signature to the songs, with Dug Pinnick's performance giving Turning Point a KING'S X vibe, bringing in mind the Faith, Hope, Love album.

My only objection is that, even though Billy Sheehan is very capable of playing his musical instruments, I can't say the same about his voice. Not that it's something you can't stand, there are some guys out there that call themselves singers but can't even have the right tone, but I believe that by having a singer this album would have been even better. My favorite track from this album is the opener In A Week Or Two, with a bridge and a chorus that sticks in your mind, Turning Point and the instrumental Theme From An Imaginary Sci-Fi.

A nice album in general, but not something extraordinary. Fans of Billy Sheehan will like his new album and he'll probably win some new fans. But, as I said, Holy Cow! is not an album that will make the difference. But we didn't wait for this album to judge  Mr. Sheehan, a bass player with a history that many music players will envy.